The Diabolist
by crimson sun06
Summary: My name is Percy Jackson and I am a Diabolist. One of the few sentinels standing between the veils of the world, while trying to protect this one. An unknown soldier fighting an invisible war. This is my story. Modern day noir AU.
1. Prologue

**Okay guys, welcome to The Diabolist. I love noirs. They are awesome. So I decided to write one of my own. Though let me tell you it is a bit out of my comfort zone. Cause noirs need to be first person narratives for them to be truly awesome. So I don't know if I am going to succeed or fail, but I sure as hell am gonna try. Do tell me how I am doing and how I can improve.**

**Prologue.**

The white walls of the room seem to descend over me, making the experience claustrophobic. The walls are bland though. No imagination to them.

Wouldn't want to trigger an episode after all by adding color to the place.

Gods forbid if they make the place a little cheerful.

I am under what you would call solitary observation.

They decided to put me in this place, because of my last violent episode. Which I felt was a bit of an over-reaction. They let you get away with a lot of stuff in here.

Wanna sneak some extra candies, here is some more. You want to stay an extra 5 minutes in the recreational room, hell you can stay for 15. But break a glass jar over an orderly's head and suddenly all hell breaks loose.

If they didn't want me to break the jar, they shouldn't have kept it there in the first place. And the guy didn't even bleed...that much.

But to let you into a secret... I am not really crazy.

You don't believe me?

Before you get into the argument about how every criminal says he is not guilty and the same logic applies to crazy people, you would just loop yourself into a Catch-22 situation.

Have you ever heard a sane person say they are crazy? Granted I am the one locked in a 4 by 4 cell wrapped up in a strait-jacket and granted this isn't exactly my first term of service in an asylum.

But we will get back to that later. Wouldn't do to get sidetracked just yet.

I don't know how long I have been here. May have been 3 hours, may have been 13.

But I could tell it was almost time.

The fluorescent bulb hanging over my head starts flickering, followed by the loud scream that tore through the corridor.

**"AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"**

And that ladies and gentlemen is my cue.

Thankfully I had dislocated my shoulder a little early in preparation for this eventuality, slipping out of the strait jacket was a piece of cake.

Popping the shoulder back into its joint... not so much.

Gaining as much momentum as my small cell allowed, I slammed my shoulder into the wall.

The part of my brain which wasn't dulled by the excruciating pain that I was currently experiencing told me that this wasn't such a good idea.

Its kinda ironic how hearing voices in your head is considered to be the first sign of dementia and that still happened to be the most logical portion in my head.

I am probably not selling the 'I am not crazy story' very well am I?

Don't answer that.

But getting out of my restraints was just the first step. The next step involved, getting through the door.

How about that?

But I had it covered. The art of lock-picking was one of the first skills I have picked up in my short life of fifteen years. I had snagged a pair of paper clips just in case something like this happened.

It took me another 30 seconds to defeat the lock.

Unlocking the door I made my way towards the screams, which came from 6 doors down my own.

The standard response time for the orderlies to start flooding the corridors was 3 minutes. I had one and half minutes left.

Plenty of time to get where I wanted.

Not enough time for me to do what I needed to do.

Time to improvise.

I kicked the door to the source of the screams.

It was a girl, Mai Sakazuki, Japanese descent, age fifteen tied to her bed diagnosed with DPD and paranoid schizophrenia. I had read the file.

She had been confined to this room since she tried to break her own spine.

Nasty stuff.

Time to get to work. But first things first. I shut the door and placed a chair over the handle. Can't have people disturbing me now can I?

Biting into my left thumb drawing some blood, I hastily drew some symbols into my opposite palm. The girl in the meantime had manged to break through one of her restraints in a show of impressive strength.

It was now or never. Jumping on the bed I pinned one of her hands under my knee and slapped my hand onto her forehead.

Now before you start jumping to conclusions, let me tell you this isn't what it looks like.

But I will get to that in a minute. The girl collapsed back on her bed. But the bed began shaking, the room was windowless or I am pretty sure they would have been rattling.

I was running out of time. Already there were people outside the room, trying to break in. I could hear their shouts and grunts as they slammed themselves repeatedly against the door.

My momentary lapse in concentration costs me, as the girl had managed to break the restraints on her legs to and managed to scissor them over my throat.

I could have appreciated the view, if my lungs weren't screaming due to oxygen deprivation

The girl was hissing and snarling now. I managed to place my thumb over her forehead, getting to loosen her hold.

Blessed oxygen.

I began the chant.

I hated this part.

The girls screams reached a new fever pitch. I chanted faster. The bed was beginning to levitate now.

Another otherworldly scream, the light bulb shatters, showering us with bits of glass. But I keep up the chant. A sudden jerk and we land back on the floor.

Success.

Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

At this moment, the door slammed open followed by 3 orderlies and a doctor. A resident I guess stood there with their faces resembling gaping fishes.

That's when I realized the position I was in.

On top of a seemingly unconscious mental patient, straddling her waist.

Crap!

"Guys this isn't what it looks like." Was all I could manage before the three orderlies charged.

* * *

I was back in my cell, and this time I had been pumped up on tranquilizers, making me more groggy than an alcoholic during happy hours.

But I am being rude. I have yet to give my name after all.

My name is Percy Jackson.

And I am a Diabolist.

Confused? Well I suppose it would have made more sense if I said I was a shaman, a witch doctor or the exorcist. Then why the Diabolist?

I just thought it sounded cooler.

Despite how cool it sounds. It is still a pretty thankless job. I don't get paid for my troubles, the hours are worse than that of a resident doctor and trust me when I say that being a soldier in a battlefield is probably a safer prospect. And on good days like the one I am currently having I get to be strapped to a strait jacket, thrown in solitary.

Then why do I do it?

Its a really long story, but I will give you the crash course.

I have a gift. Could see things no one should have to. Scared the crap out of all the orphanage kids I can tell you that much.

The caretakers at the orphanage, bless their souls made it worse.

See I am a psychic. A powerful one at that even if I do say so myself. The real deal. I don't read cards, or tea leaves or palms for that matter.

I couldn't tell you what it means for the Saturn to be in the seventh house of Gemini constellation.

But if you have been possessed by a spirit or a demon. With boogeymen in your closet or monsters under the bed, you know who to call.

And I will give you a hint. Not the ghost busters.

But where was I? Oh yes, the orphanage. It wasn't a long stay I can tell you that much. By my seventh birthday I was carted out of the orphanage and placed in an asylum not unlike the one I am currently staying in.

That's where I met him. My mentor and teacher.

The door to my cell opens to admit the man I have been talking about. He is a tall man in his early fifties. Tall with dark brown hair tied in a pony tail and dressed in a brown suit.

"You couldn't have messed that up any worse now could you kid?" He smirks at me.

Mr. Brunner. At least that's what he calls himself. To be honest I don't think that's his real name. But to be honest I was never the curious type.

But then again when you know exactly what's out there you're too busy being scared than curious.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I exorcised the spirit didn't I?" I shot back. "So when can I get out of here?"

"They are drawing up the paperwork right now. Apparently you're too volatile to be kept here, so they are moving you to a more secure facility."

Oh he was having way too much fun with this. I kept my mouth shut. I had a few wise-ass comments I could fire, but it probably wouldn't do to piss off the one person who could get me out, or he might decide to leave me here for a few more days.

He had done it before. And I was sick of the food.

So back to how I met him.

Long story short, he was in the neighborhood, probably conducting an exorcism of his own. He met me. Recognized me for what I was, acknowledged me and taught me everything I know. Gave me a purpose.

So, that answers the question of why I do what I do.

"You are too reckless kid." He said taking a chair and sitting in front of me."Did you really have to break his head?"

"I was running out of time. I had to improvise." I defended myself."That was the only way they were gonna put me close enough to her and I don't think I broke his head."

"And that was the only reason?" He fixed me with his 'lie to me or else' glare.

"Fine, I saw him bullying some of the older patients." I admitted. "I am impulsive, sue me."

Mr. Brunner sighed rubbing his forehead, which I have to admit made me feel more than a little ashamed of myself but then I felt angry. I swear I didn't get the guy at times. He always expects so much from me. No matter what I do, its never good enough. As if I am letting him down.

"When will you learn Percy?" He said in a disappointed tone. "You have a gift..."

"Well I didn't ask for it." I snapped, before he could finish. Partly because I knew how the rest of the speech went. How I had the power to help people, to make a difference.

"One day you will understand." He sighed as he gave me a look of understanding mingled with pity.

Thanks Mr. Brunner for making me feel like an even bigger jerk than before. Still didn't know how he did that. No matter what I could never stay mad at the guy no matter how hard I tried.

"You will be out of here in a few hours." Mr. Brunner said getting up.

"Thanks." For once I kept the sarcasm out of my tone.

He walked towards the door and turned the knob, seemingly hesitating before finally turning around.

"Good job by the way."

Wait... did he just compliment me? Forgot the last time that miracle happened. He smiled at my expresion which I am sure resembled a gaping fish by now, before leaving me alone in the room.

Despite myself I felt a smile creeping over my face. It was a job well done.

My name is Percy Jackson and I am a Diabolist.

**So, that's that. My first attempt. Don't forget to leave a line. Originally a Naruto fic, but I decided I have a better plot point if I write it as a PJO fic. Moreover the main character somehow felt more Percy than Naruto. Anyway don't forget to leave a line.**

**Criticisms and suggestions welcome.**


	2. A Normal day in An Abnormal Life

**A Normal day in An Abnormal Life **

I was running through the corridors of the orphanage. It was way past curfew. If I was caught, there would be hell to pay.

And I just so happened to be holding the bill. I didn't know what I was running from? Or was I running towards something? I really didn't even know anymore.

I was almost out. I could see the gates of the orphanage. At 8 feet, they weren't too high. I could scale it in a single jump.

It was easy. All I had to do was walk out. It wouldn't be hard.

The choices were simple. The dark corridor or the world outside. A fool would have known the answer.

_"Percy."_ A cold whisper caresses my ear. It resonates through my bones chilling my very soul.

"_Why do you run?_" The voice asks, bewilderment coloring its tone. But I knew I had to get out of here.

Then why weren't my legs responding?

_"You belong here."_ The voice insists.

My mind keeps up a chant of 'Don't look back'.

And so I look back.

An arm, scaly gray wrapped in bandages grabs me by the throat.

I close my eyes in resignation.

As it drags me into the darkness.

I wake up with a start. That dream again. I have had it for almost every night for the past nine years. You would think after 9 years I would have gotten used to it. But unfortunately the passage of time did nothing to reduce its effectiveness of breaking me into a cold sweat every time I had it.

I could feel a headache coming. Massaging my temples helped a bit. The digital clock on my bedside table read 2:30 AM.

3 hours. That's the amount of sleep I got last night. Lying in won't make sense. I won't be getting anymore sleep tonight. Throwing off the bed covers I prepared myself for the day.

Flicking on the lights of my bathroom, I checked my reflection. My green eyes looked tired and blood-shot. The left one sporting a bruise and some swelling. A product of the punch I got from one of the orderlies.

Scrawny bastard had a mean right.

The rest of my body was lined with scars. Each one telling a different story. The ones on my arm, were the oldest ones. Had been a pair of nasty Empousai.

Though at the time I had no idea that's what they were called. The people at the orphanage assumed they were self-inflicted.

Imagine their bafflement when they couldn't figure how I kept doing it to myself, when I never had anything sharp on my person.

The thing bout the things I could see, was that they knew I could see them. That made me a threat. Being a threat makes you a target.

Those two always seem to go hand in hand don't they?

I somehow managed to survive and keep myself from losing my mind till Mr. Brunner found me.

15 minutes later I had finished my morning rituals. I even made a half-hearted attempt to tame my hair.

I remember someone telling me I resemble Harry Potter. Maybe I should have auditioned. Who knows I could actually have been one of those stars, you would see on TV. But I suppose I was too young back then and busy running for life half the time.

Priorities. Priorities.

I went to the basement/training room, entered the security code on the keypad unlocking it. It looked like a regular gym of a martial arts studio, complete with Wing Chun Dummies and a ring at the center for sparring sessions.

After 15 minutes of warm-ups, mainly involving stretching, I was ready to begin my routine. Half-an hour at the Wing Chun dummies, followed by a couple of hundred push-ups and chin-ups, had me building up a healthy sweat, my breathing still under control.

Mr. Brunner discouraged weight training, so I avoided them.

Now many of you, me included would question the wisdom of training an ADHD kid with anger issues in combat. According to him it would help me channel my energies in a more productive direction.

But then again he also encouraged me to meditate, and that hadn't gone well so far.

Well I don't know about the channeling in a productive direction thing, but beating the crap out of a punching bag can be very therapeutic.

"Still struggling with sleep I see." A voice came from behind me. "Nightmares?"

"The usual." I replied. "Didn't know you were home."

Mr. Brunner was dressed in his tracks and a vest and started limbering up to begin his own routine.

"We really need to work on your awareness kid." He was now doing stretches of his own. "For a psychic you are not very good."

"Not my fault you're a freaking ninja." I retorted increasing my tempo of punches and kicks on the bag.

"Just for that kid, you have earned yourself a pop-quiz." He smirked at me causing me to groan.

Now let me tell you there are school pop quizes and then there are Mr. Brunner's pop quizes. You know how the school pop quizes go, so I will spare you the explanation.

Mr. Brunner's were a lot more painful.

Simple version. Full contact sparring with him firing questions at me, essential for our... job. Something about getting my brain to focus on multiple things and being able to handle pressure.

I entered the ring with him already there.

Sometimes I felt he really enjoyed these sessions.

I put up my hand in front of my face in a rudimentary guard.

"Difference between a vampire and an empousai." He began with a series of straight punches, followed by a kick to the ribs.

"Empousai are females, vampires can be of either gender." I blocked the punches with my arm before retreating backwards out of the way of the kick and retaliated with a haymaker of my own, which was caught and I found myself on the receiving end of a throw.

"Vampires avoid daylight, empousai don't." Twisting mid air I turned his throw into a lock of my own, now holding him by the elbow. He countered me by executing a leg-sweep, flooring me. I rolled out of the way avoiding the knee to the neck which would have ended the spar.

"The best way to kill a cyclops." He fired another question, though I had yet to finish answering the first as he came at me with a series of jabs, I defended myself the best I could, but a few hit home.

"By stabbing it.." An open palm smacked me on my face, and I felt the familiar rush of blood to my head which I had begun to associate with anger. Using my momentum I executed a spinning high kick, which just about grazed his chin. "Through the eye."

Mr. Brunner advanced and began peppering my body with rapid punches. I put up my guard as I absorbed the blows, waiting for a break in his rhythm.

"Best place to find a troll?" He kept up the questions, while still not letting up.

"Under a bridge, preferably a sewer." I suppressed a wince as the punches got a little more vicious. "Though, dark, dank places are just good as any.

A momentary lapse in concentration led me eating another open palm in my face. This one harder than the last one. Before I could recover I received another on the opposite cheek.

And I lost it. Charging like a wild beast I launched myself at him, but not before catching a grim look on his face.

Uh oh.

Catching me mid air he introduced me to floor of the ring locking my legs with his own and putting an arm around my neck, cutting off the supply of oxygen to my brain.

I woke up coughing and spluttering, courtesy of glass of water poured over my face.

"Welcome back kid."

Stretching my limbs to see if they were in working order, trying to cover up my humiliation at being bested by a middle-aged man. "How long was I out?"

"A couple of minutes." Came the nonchalant reply, as I was handed a water bottle.

"You know I am pretty sure some of the stuff I go through constitutes child abuse." I said in between sips.

"Go get ready. You have school in an hour." Mr. Brunner didn't dignify my feeble joke with a response. Seriously seven years with the guy and I had yet to get a rise out of him.

All these years I had yet to hear him raise his voice at me. But then he was never a very vocal guy. That didn't mean he was lenient or anything.

Its just that his actions spoke louder than words. He was a pretty cool guy. Though never stuck around for long. His work kept him busy, so he was always on the road.

I would be lucky if I saw him for month in an entire year. When I did see him he always had something new to teach me. Sometimes he gave me jobs like the one I just finished yesterday.

A shower later I was at the breakfast munching on a breakfast of oats and a banana.

"How long are you gonna be staying this time?" I asked him as he sipped his coffee while reading the newspaper.

"I leave in the evening." He said without looking up. "You probably won't see me."

I swallowed down the pang of disappointment I felt at his words. I was hoping he would stay longer this time.

"I have talked to your principal, stating you had an accident." Mr. Brunner said. "The shiner you're sporting should sell the story."

I nodded, refraining from making abuse jokes. I had been gone a week, so some sort of explanation was mandatory to satisfy the authorities. It helped Mr. Brunner was a well-respected parapsychologist and was well-known in his circle.

Grabbing my school bag and mumbling a goodbye to Mr. Brunner, I grabbed my skateboard and rode the five blocks to school, plugging in my earphones to listen to the soft melody of heavy metal. Drowning out the outside world.

Goode High School. Aka Purgatory.

Where the classrooms are torture chambers and the teachers are fork wielding devils.

Okay so maybe I am exaggerating a bit. But thing is I don't have a very good track when it comes to schools. Having been kicked out 6 of them.

I hit my low when I was kicked out of my last school, which was meant for 'special kids.' Mr. Brunner pulled some strings to get me in here and I had managed to stay out of trouble so far.

But it wasn't long before rumors spread around the school about a delinquent kid, who had a rap-sheet a mile long. And lets just say it has been an uphill battle since. The local school gang tried to recruit me, and i turned them down...politely of course.

Though I keep my nose clean, averaging only one detention a week, and most of them because I fall asleep in class. I hover around the middle of the pack academically.

So life wasn't bad here. It was just boring. Though after the excitement last week, I could use a little boring. Tucking my skateboard under my arm I made my way to my locker, when a pair of strong arms grabbed me, leading me inside a broom closet.

Before I knew it a pair of lips pressed against mine and a feminine body pinning me against the wall. I really need to work on my awareness.

After the initial shock wore off, I responded to the kiss, wrapping my arms around her waist. After a few minutes we broke the kiss to come up for air and I found myself gazing at the green eyed, freckled faced, red headed girl in my arms.

"Hey." She said with a smirk.

"Hey Rachel." I replied. "Assault much?"

"Just wanted to surprise you." She said her smirk never leaving her face.

"Mission accomplished," I said a little dryly.

"Oh come on you know you like it."

Well to be honest I had. But no way in Hades was I going to tell her that.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare. School cheerleader, straight A's and currently dating the school quarterback. Which is not me, if you're wondering.

Her father is some big-shot Real Estate dealer and one of the richest men in the city. If I had to describe Rachel in one word it would have to be paradox.

She did everything a stereotypical popular girl is supposed to do. But that was just a facade. She was more into arts and crafts than she was into cheerleading. In her free time she worked for various charities, to raise money for various causes.

She sometimes even participated in rallies against companies which turn lands into malls and subdivisions. Most of which belong to her father.

I remember her posing as a golden statue once so that they wouldn't scrap art for the pre-school kids.

The only reason she agreed to go out with the biggest jock in school was because it amused her to see the other girls drooling over what she got so easily. But she played by the rules on one hand while completely obliterating them with the other. She never really cared about status or the popularity roster.

And she really didn't.

Yeah she was an A-grade bitch alright, but she knew it. Being honest with herself while fooling the world was one of her many talents.

She fooled around with me because I was 'A juvenile delinquent outcast, who wasn't expected to go far.' Her words. I didn't take it personally. Frankly speaking with the kind of life I led, I would be lucky to see 17. And that was being optimistic.

Yeah she pulled no punches when she spoke.

Pathetic? Probably.

And as many faults as I had, pride wasn't one of them. So I took what she offered. She needed an escape from her own pretentious life, and I just needed to feel something other than fear.

While no one knew about us, I suspected she really wanted someone to find out and wanted to see how they would react.

"Got into another fight?" She traced my shiner with her index finger being surprisingly tender.

"Something like that." I said.

"You have been gone a week." She wrapped her arms around my neck. "I missed you."

Yeah I noticed.

"We will be late for class." I said, pointing at my watch.

"Aren't you a stickler for rules." Her trademark smirk was back.

"I would rather not be late on my first day back." Her fingers were now running through my hair, having pushed my hood back. "You really want us to get caught don't you?"

"I don't get you." She said a hint of confusion in her voice. "I am supposed to be the good girl, and here you are the one who is afraid of getting in trouble."

"Your boyfriend finds out he is going to pound me into next week." I tried again.

"I am sure you can handle yourself." She said dismissively.

"Yeah I would rather not be kicked out of this school too." I gently but firmly removed her arms from around my neck. But she grabbed my arm, stopping me from leaving. I glanced at her now confused.

"You know, you could have told me that you were going to be missing for a week." She said keeping her eyes on me. "I couldn't even call you since you don't carry a cell."

"To be frank I didn't know that I would go missing for a week." I shrugged, the situation was becoming a little uncomfortable now.

Putting my hand palm up she pulled out a black permanent marker from her pocket and wrote a number.

"Next time you decide to go incognito." She placed her hand over my arm. "Can you just call me and say so?"

Okay, this had just gone past weird. It had been an unspoken rule that we wouldn't contact each other outside of school.

"Rachel are you feeling okay?" I couldn't help asking.

She just sighed audibly. "I will see you later." Kissing me once on the cheek she exited the closet. I followed a few minutes later.

It was third period math. Having braved through two classes, I was now feeling a little too lethargic. That's the thing with insomnia.

You tend to fall asleep at the wrong time and maths wasn't my best subject. A piece of chalk bounced off my head, snapping me up from my impromptu nap. The class snickered as one.

"Mr. Jackson, I would really appreciate it if you could grace us with consciousness for another fifteen minutes."

"Sorry Mr. Matthews." I mumbled. Teachers and their jibes. Yeah, I sort of walked into that one.

A scoff from my right dragged my attention. The girl on my right had a weird name. Something Chase. She had taken the time off to favor me with a mocking glare.

She was a math scholar and was a regular in the girl's volleyball team. A mathlete. We shared 3 classes and spent maths sitting next to each other and during all this time we had managed to stay off each other's radars.

She was an attractive girl. Blonde hair, tanned limbs typical California girl, except her stormy gray eyes which ruined the image.

Ignoring her, I tried to keep my efforts invested in trying to stay awake for the rest of the class.

* * *

On my way back from school, I stopped by the yard.

Why was it called the yard?

There were quite a few explanations. One of which was that it resembled a prison yard. Personally I felt the gangsters just lacked imagination.

It was a place where most delinquents hung out. Score some drugs, hang out with the brothers, know where the latest party is gonna be. I would sometimes join the boys for a game or two of basketball, try and make some cash from the bets. But that wasn't why I was here today. I made my way to the court.

"Hey Charlie!" I called out to the group of boys.

A big African American dude hair tied in a bandanna turned around to face me.

"Yo, Perce, ma' man." He smiled and came over, we executed a handshake. "Its been a while. Wanna join us for a game?" Some of the others came up to me and shook my hand. I knew most of them by sight and a few by name. But Beckendorf was my point of contact.

"Maybe later. You got what I wanted?" I asked him, getting a nod in response.

"So what you been upto?" He fell in step beside me as we made way to his garage which was a five minute walk from the yard.

"Not much, exorcised a spirit possessing a girl this last week." I shrugged. "The usual."

"Those seals came in handy after all." He unlocked his garage and pulled open the shutter.

"You bet."

Me and Charlie Beckendorf we go some way back. He is one of the few who knows what I do. Probably because he himself is involved in it.

When he was 6 he saw his parents shred to pieces by a hellhound. You don't recover from something like that. He is a technical genius. In a perfect world he would have been an engineer graduated from MIT, living the American dream, maybe get a wife somewhere down the line, two kids, driving a Spyder Maserati and a six bedroom apartment, holidaying in the Caribbean during the summer and the Alps in the winter.

The perfect world. Yeah right!

In the world we live in he began asking questions.

Those questions brought him in contact with Mr. Brunner. Long story short he has been in this business longer than I have.

Though he mainly sticks to looking for artifacts which might help and creating his own stuff. Stuff which would help us fight.

He led me behind the garage, where he fixed cars, to a basement of sorts, protected with symbols drawn across the doorway, a way to keep some of the undesirables out.

He entered the security code in the keypad, unlocking the door.

The room he led me to resembled a hybrid cross between a physics-chemistry lab cum museum cum weapon shelter.

Ignoring the bigger looking contraptions in the room he fished around a small rectangular box. Carefully he opened it to reveal its contents.

"You found it." I said admiring it.

"Mr. Brunner told me where to look." He admitted.

I brought out the content. A ballpoint pen.

"Go ahead." He said in excited anticipation.

Feeling my own heart racing I uncapped it. The pen transformed into a 3 foot long leaf-shaped celestial bronze blade.

The Greek inscription on the side read Anaklusmos.

A smile broke over my face.

"Riptide." I said reverentially.


	3. Trouble Knocks Home:- The Cursed Blade

******A/N:- Welcome to another chapter of The Diabolist. This chapter was really fun to write and is the build-up to the things to come. The toning of this story is a little more grim than my other ones, with dark humor and satire. But then that's noir for you. Hope you enjoy this.**

**Trouble Knocks Home:- The Cursed Blade**

"What do you know, it works?" Beckendorf choked out after we spent a couple of minutes admiring the blade in silent wonderment.

"Wait you mean to tell me you didn't know it worked?" I asked him.

"What can I say?" Beckendorf looked a little sheepish. "I had my doubts. I mean it looks like a pen for crying out loud."

"You didn't test it?" That was a little unusual. Beckendorf was the kind of guy who asked questions and tried to answer those questions. For him to miss out on an opportunity like this wasn't like him.

"The important thing is, the blade works and that's all that matters." For some reason he just wouldn't meet my eyes, while sneaking glances at Riptide, as if it were radioactive.

"What aren't you telling me?" I said folding my arms fixing him with a glare. He was hiding something and now I was really intrigued as to what.

Beckendorf seemed to struggle with himself for a while before he finally gave a resigned sigh.

"I was really excited when Mr. Brunner told me to look for Anaklusmos." Beckendorf explained. "It was… is a blade of legends. Said to be capable of killing any monster or demon. I had only read stories of it. And despite everything we know to exist, it was simply ludicrous, that such a weapon should exist."

"So, now you know it exists." I tried to figure where this was going.

"Imagine my surprise when Mr. Brunner told me to never touch the weapon directly."

"What?" I was beginning to get really confused now. Why would he do that?

"That's what I said, so I dug deeper into the legends and get this." Despite his initial hesitance, Beckendorf was on a roll now. "The Anaklusmos can be wielded by only one person at a time."

"So… that means."

"The blade won't work for anyone else other than you." Beckendorf confirmed my suspicions.

Okay as cool as that was, it still didn't explain why he would want to hide this from me. But apparently he wasn't done.

"Apparently the blade is fatal to anyone when anyone who isn't meant to touch it touches it."

OOkaaayyy. That wasn't good.

"So how did you know it wouldn't kill me?" My voice was surprisingly calm, despite the rising panic, bulding up in my chest.

"I didn't." He admitted. "I was just following Mr. Brunner's instructions."

This statement was followed by an extremely awkward silence, where Beckendorf started fiddling with a pair of paper-clips, a habit of his when he was feeling nervous, while I remained frozen in my place, a minor miracle considering my ADHD.

"You're taking all this really well, considering." Beckendorf finally said, the silence finaly getting to him. "I expected you to totally freak out."

"Oh trust me I am freaking out." I assured him. "It's just that my mind hasn't really caught up to what's happening yet." I placed the cap back on the tip of the blade and it reverted back to being a normal pen. "So what happens when someone touches the blade after it has been claimed by the one who is supposed to wield it?"

"Don't know. The legends weren't clear about that." He admitted.

"Well I guess there is only one way to find out. Head's up!" I tossed him the pen, which he caught by reflex and froze.

His eyes widened for a while before he spoke in a tone as calm as one I was using before. "I am holding the blade. The cursed blade….."

"Why don't you try uncapping it?" I suggested, curious to see what he would do.

For a minute Beckendorf seemed to struggle with himself. His curiosity versus the very real possibility of losing his life.

Guess which won out over the other?

Closing one eye, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his upper lip using all the dexterity required to be a member of the bomb disposal squad he uncapped the pen.

And surprise surprise. The pen remained a pen and Beckendorf remained in one piece.

"You're an ass, you now that right?" Beckendorf tossed the pen back to me, which turned back into a blade as soon as I caught it.

I saw the light catch the blade, glinting in the sunlight. It was beautiful. I pointed the blade at him.

"It doesn't work on mortals." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"So, you wouldn't mind if I run you through would you?"

"You really are mad at me aren't you?"

"What do you think?" I retorted.

"Guess I did deserve that." He admitted sheepishly. "Then I suppose now wouldn't be a good time to tell you that none of the previous owners died natural deaths. Hey!

"What do you know, it doesn't work on mortals afterall." I removed Riptide from his torso where I had just plunged it and there wasn't so much a scratch on him.

"I wish you would stop doing that." He complained.

"And I wish you would keep your mouth shut." I said. "But then that's life, you don't always get what you want." I replaced the cap on the sword reverting it back to its cap form. "Why don't you think it didn't work for you?"

"Probably because I don't have your gifts."

"Hmmm."

"What's wrong?" He asked me once he was done grumbling about how underappreciated he was.

"How can I keep myself from losing it?"

Yes I was a bit worried about that. I did spend half of my allowance replacing the pens that I kept losing. And I had a feeling Riptide wasn't something I could replace in my friendly neighborhood stationary store.

Beckendorf grabbed the pen from my hand and threw it across the room. Funny now he didn't seem to have any qualms about touching my pen.

"What was that all about?" I said a bit irritably.

"Wait for it." He said, raising a hand in a stopping gesture, before dropping it. "Check your pockets."

Curiosity winning over annoyance I did as he said and what do you know Riptide was right there. A smile broke over Beckendorf's face which I was sure mirrored the one on my own.

"Sweet. As long as you remember to wear pants with pockets, you are golden my friend."

* * *

The next day of school began on the usual note. Except I now had an awesome sword, which could help me do what I did.

I would still fish my pockets for Riptide not quite believing it was there.

Despite the warnings I had received from Beckendorf about the blade, they really didn't bother me all that much. So, none of the previous owners died natural deaths. Big deal!

When you do what I do, then your life expectancy wasn't meant to be all that high anyway. For all I know, having Riptide probably helped them survive for as long as they did.

And as much as I hated my life, I was in no hurry to die. I had seen exactly what lies beyond and I was in no hurry to get there, thank you very much.

I unlocked my locker and collected my books for my first class in the morning, ignoring the milling group of students in the hallway, when I started feeling a tingling in the back of my neck.

No no not here. This sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen here. At the same time there was a disturbance in the hallway and soon the hallway exploded with exclamations of surprise mixed with anger.

"Hey!"

"Watch it!"

A boy was running pushing the kids out of his way, with more strength then his diminutive stature seemed to suggest. He pushed one poor girl so hard, she must have flown five feet in the air before the wall interrupted her flight.

As he ran past me, he looked at me and gave me a maniacal grin.

My blood ran cold. His eyes were a shade of gold, not possible in humans. He was possessed, but not with anything I had ever come across.

Cackling madly he ran to the roof.

Shaking off my stupor, I followed.

The boy was fast, dodging and weaving in the hallways, like it was nothing. In my attempts to overtake him I took to the top of the lockers, trying to close the distance. But he really was fast.

Just as he was about to approach the stairs I lunged, tackling him mid-air, sliding down the floor as we landed.

Positioning myself between the stairs and him, I took a stance. Whatever this thing was, it obviously wanted to go to the roof, something which I couldn't allow.

"What are you?" I questioned it warily.

Giving another grin he lunged aiming a kick at my face. Knowing it wanted me to dodge, I held my ground. Shifting slightly, I caught his leg and tried to slam him on the wall.

For all those wannabes out there, never get into a physical confrontation with a spirit possessed person. It tends to end in blood, sweat and tears. Namely yours.

The boy simply using the wall flipped and aimed a kick at me. I crossed my arms and absorbed the blow, except now my arms felt like they had been slammed with a warhammer. I would be lucky if they hadn't fractured.

Hurriedly I got to my feet, to find him still smirking at him. He didn't attack me while I was down, neither did it make any attempts to escape.

It didn't take me long to figure out why. There were several students who were now watching our fight with looks of interest on their faces.

He was going to attack them.

"Get out of here!" I shouted at the blissful idiots.

Of course they ignored me.

He jumped over me, now moving towards his new targets. I caught him mid-air and slammed him to the floor.

"Get out of here!" I repeated myself with more emphasis this time. This time they did listen.

Nothing like a homicidal maniac out to get you, to get you moving. The halls began clearing fast, as I placed my hand over his head and began the exorcism chant.

It helps when the subject of your exorcism is bound either physically or spiritually, which is usually done with seals. Something which I didn't carry when coming to school.

So as you can probably guess, it didn't end too well for me. With an almighty heave, the boy kicked me away, knocking the air out of me as I slammed into the lockers.

Before I could recover, he was already on his feet running towards the stairs.

Taking a few deep breaths to get my respiratory system going again, I followed after him. Running up the stairs, wincing with every step.

Bastard must have cracked a few ribs. The door to the roof had been ripped apart. I stumbled onto the roof, to a scene which turned my blood cold in my veins.

The boy was standing at the edge of the roof, hands spread apart, like a diver preparing for a performance.

He turned to me to give me one more maniacal grin golden eyes flashing and then he jumped.

* * *

I was strapped to the gurney in the nurse's office, to prevent my escape I supposed than any genuine concern for me.

The situation was beginning to feel surprisingly familiar.

It was almost an hour after the incident. One of the students had followed me to the roof and had alerted the security, who had then proceeded to restrain me and then proceeded to dump me in the sick room. The school doctor a kind looking man in his fifties, held no warmth when he gave me a check-up.

But then he probably though one kid lost his life in a school fight and I was the guilty party. Yeah my shoes weren't probably the best ones to be in at the moment.

He did raise an eyebrow at the scars over my body, but his brief flash of sympathy was lost in the horror of my latest 'crime.'

After examining me, the doctor had concluded that I hadn't broken any bones, other than some bruising over my arms and torso, I was unscathed.

"The principal will see you now." The doctor told him.

I nodded once, resigned to my fate. I probably will be shipped off to juvie now. That might not be the worst thing that could have happened to me I suppose.

The Principal entered my room with a couple of New York's finest as all three fixed me with a glare. I wanted to roll my eyes at their antics, trying to intimidate the delinquent into submission.

"Mr. Jackson I would want you to give me your version of the events." The principal said.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked lacing my voice with some skepticism.

"I don't know young man. You tell me." One of the cops joined the conversation. "The kid you were fighting did fall off the roof. Tell me how that looks to you."

"I want my lawyer." I said. No way in hell was I going down for this. This is what I get for trying to help I suppose.

"That won't be necessary Mr. Jackson." The principal interjected.

Wait what?

Seeing the dumbstruck look on my face, he took pity on me.

"We have an eyewitness who saw the whole thing and apparently the boy jumped off his own accord and you were nowhere close to him when it happened." He explained.

Well what do you know, I guess I can get lucky once in a while.

"So if you can just tell us what exactly happened, you will save us all some trouble." The officer said grudgingly as if disappointed he won't be making an arrest.

"So, I am not in trouble?" I asked, not quite believing what I was hearing.

"No more than usual Mr. Jackson." The principal said.

Well that's the best I was going to get I suppose.

"Okay then ask your questions."

"Why were you fighting Mr. Gage?" The officer began.

"He was running in the hallways, when he slammed into me and a few other kids. He looked like one of those crazy kids in the asylum who had one of their violent fits" I said, embellishing my story with believable details. "I followed him, we got intro a confrontation, some punches were thrown, before he escaped to the roof. I tried to stop him, but he had already jumped."

"Your story checks out, Mr. Jackson." One of the officers's nodded. "We will be questioning Mr. Gage once he regains consciousness of course."

"He is alive?" It was a three storey fall.

"Yes. He is in a comatose state of course, but we are hopeful he will recover."

Relief flooded my was one less death on my conscience. I hadn't realized how much I had been dreading that outcome.

"We will leave you in peace now Mr. Jackson." The officers along with the principal took their leave. I closed my eyes feeling the painkillers doing their job over my body. Hell who knows I might even get some sleep... the dreamless kind.

I wasn't expecting anymore visitors, considering my lack of friends in general and the absence of my guardian. So, imagine my surprise when I heard a feminine voice arguing with the school nurse wanting to visit me.

"I swear I will only take 5 minutes." The voice spoke in an earnest tone.

"I am sorry but he is resting." The nurse said firmly.

At first I thought it was Rachel. But this girl sounded nothing like Rachel. Though the tone was similar.

After another minute or so of arguing, it stopped. Who could be so eager to meet me? I had to admit I was intrigued. Maybe a friend of the boy I had supposedly chucked over the building.

I sure hoped not. In my condition I would be hard pressed to burst a grape without cringing.

My curiosity was soon satisfied as the door to my room opened to admit a tall blonde-haired girl.

"You have five minutes." The nurse told the girl, who had yet to face me.

"I won't be long." She assured her, before turning to me.

Her gray eyed gaze met mine. She looked at me like she was trying to figure out a particularly complicated math problem. How do I know?

Well its because I sit next to her during my maths class and that was the expression she wore when she was solving a problem which she was having difficulty with.

She is an attractive girl. So sue me.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, before she finally opened her mouth, and I had a feeling I wouldn't like what she was about to say.

"You drool when you sleep."

Hey I wasn't a psychic for nothing!

**And we are done. Done forget to leave a line. Suggestions and criticisms welcome.**

**Until next time.**


	4. Trial & Error

**Hey guys! Welcome to the newest edition of The Diabolist. As I have said earlier, this story is inspired by Constantine, Supernatural and few others here and there, you get the gist. Its an origin story, so basically Percy is learning on the job. He will get better with time as he grows into his skin.**

**He is new to this and will make mistakes and not everything will go the way his way. He is and will be a flawed character, who will show development as the story progresses.**

**Anyway, now that that's out of the way.**

**Enjoy**

**Trial & Error**

_I had a feeling I wouldn't like what she was about to say._

_"You drool when you sleep."_

_Hey I wasn't a psychic for nothing!_

Those gray eyes kept scrutinizing me, and I realized she expected me to speak. So, now being the gentleman that I am I couldn't just leave a lady hanging now could I?

Now in world you will often come across those people who always think before they speak, masters of diplomacy, master conversationalists, who would have you eating out of their hands in no time.

I wasn't one of them.

"If you're here to ask me out on a date, I am free this Saturday." I said.

What can I say? I am impulsive, and those piercing eyes were beginning to freak me out. But there was more to it than that. She had expected me to ask why she was here. She had expected to throw me off with her first comment, well like hell I was going to give in to her game. You pick up a few things when your mentor is a parapsychologist.

Her face went through a motley of emotions ranging from surprise, anger, condescension before finally settling on slightly amused.

"No. I am not here to ask you out. It's a nice dream to have though." She replied, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Can't blame a guy for trying, can you?" I shrugged nonchalantly and just like that the tension which had entered in the room with her arrival had dissipated.

"That was some fight you got into." She pulled up a chair as she brought it closer to the bed.

"Yeah, well that's what delinquents do, don't they?" I retorted. "They get into fights."

"That's what I used to think too." She said ignoring the sarcasm in my tone. "But I know Gage, and I happen to know that he doesn't have a bone of violence in his entire body."

"So, is that why you're here?" I said. "Laying it on the delinquent, picking on your harmless friend?"

She glared at me, and I could tell I was testing her patience.

"Are you always this big a jerk?" She retorted. "Or is today a special occasion?"

"You tell me, this is longest conversation we have ever had, the event required some sort of commemoration."

"Big words from a delinquent." She retaliated.

Gods this girl was infuriating. My temper issues weren't helping either, I had smacked around people for a lot less than that. But hey I was trying to turn over a new leaf and she was a girl so I settled for counting backwards from a hundred (ten just didn't do it for me) and glaring at her.

"Okay, that was a little mean and I apologize." She genuinely looked sorry. "But if you didn't keep jumping to conclusions, I would have told you that I am the witness who came forward and told them that you didn't push the guy."

Okay, now I really was beginning to feel like a jerk. What's more? She actually apologized first. That had never happened to me before. Actually I wasn't sure it was happening now. Wait a minute…. What was her angle?

It wasn't as if this hadn't happened before. One moment they are buddying up to you saying they want you to join them for a game and the next thing you know you're lying in a dumpster next to rotten vegetables and a dead cat.

I always wondered how long that cat had been in there. Which led me to the question of exactly how long it had been, since they emptied the dumpster?

Okay…. Deviating.

"Now why would you do that?" I asked a little mystified.

"Because I actually saw what went down." She said. "From the looks of it, you were trying to protect everyone, weren't you?"

My chest tightened and I felt something I was sure I had never felt before.

"Maybe you saw wrong." I told her shaking my head. "He pushed me and I just wanted an apology, didn't think it would blow up the way it did."

She stared at me, her eyes looking through me rather than at me, a distracted look on her face as if calculating a million things at once.

"Maybe I did." She whispered.

At this point a distraction was created, by sounds of arguing.

"…. Well if he already has a visitor, it wouldn't matter, if he has another, will it?"

I knew that voice, though it wasn't a welcome sound at the moment. I had my hands full and I couldn't possibly handle both Rachel and Chase at the same time.

The door to the room opened the second time, as it admitted my red headed… _friend, _I suppose is as good a word to describe her I guess.

"Hey Percy…." She paused as she found that I had company. "You have a visitor?" She finished carefully, her tone coming out like a question, as if not quite sure of what she was seeing.

"Hey Rachel." I said. "This is…." I trailed off, and that's when I realized I didn't know her first name, I only knew her by her last name, which the teachers used, unless her first name was Miss, which I doubted.

"Annabeth." She finished saving me from potentially embarrassing myself, but rollig her eyes nevertheless. "Annabeth Chase."

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare." She offered her hand which was promptly shaken by Annabeth. "Don't believe we have met."

"No, we haven't." Annabeth said. "But I do know you."

"So do I. Aren't you a shoe-in to be the captain of the volleyball team?"

"Well, there have been talks, but we will know by the end of the session." Annabeth said.

"Oh, you're being modest. One of my friends is on the team and she can't stop gushing about how good you are." Rachel waved her off.

All this time my bullshit detector was going nuts. The girls were being casual and friendly with each other, but I could literally taste the hostility in the air.

Just what the hell was going on here?

"Speaking of modesty I have heard you're quite the star in the cheerleading squad." Annabeth said returning the favor. "It seems you have been in the running for the best newcomer in the regionals."

Well for two girls who didn't know each other, they sure knew a lot about each other.

"I am just a part of a really good squad." Rachel said wearing an embarrassed smile. "Don't take Percy not knowing your name too personally. I doubt he knows anyone here."

"Oh no I don't." Annabeth insisted. "But I am sure all of us will get to know each other quite well eventually."

"Well not much to know about Percy, except he is a bit of a troublemaker." Rachel said with a laugh.

"Don't know about that." Annabeth shook her head. "There seems to be more to him than that."

All of a sudden I felt like a misbehaving kid being discussed by two adults and the kid in question being too stupid to have an opinion of his own….over his own actions.

At this point thankfully the door to the room opened a third time and this time followed by the scowling visage of the school nurse.

"Classes have been cancelled for the day, and I am going to have to ask you ladies to leave."

Thank god for small mercies. I didn't know how much more of that I could have taken.

"Well, I guess that's our cue." Annabeth gave the nurse an apologetic look. "See you later Percy and stay out of trouble."

Rachel took this opportunity to bend down and plant a kiss on my cheek, which felt a little fishy. She smirked at me and followed Annabeth out, closing the door behind her.

"Can I leave too?" I asked the nurse who had been glaring irritably at the door.

"I suppose so." She admitted grudgingly. "You're okay, so I suppose we have no reason to keep you here."

That was great. Throwing off the covers I placed my feet on the ground, intent on putting my shoes on, when I realized something. The girls probably would still be there.

Waiting another five minutes probably won't kill me.

Going out now, might.

"Do you mind if I stay for a couple of minutes, I think I might have head rush." I pleaded with the nurse, making a transparent effort of holding my head.

"Knock yourself out." Something resembling a smirk appeared on her face as she clearly saw through my transparent efforts to avoid the girls, and I found myself not really caring.

Whatever works I say.

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Beckendorf took a swig of Red-Bull as he tried to make sense of what he had just heard. "They were acting aggressively towards each other?"

"That's what you got from all this?" I deadpanned. "A tale involving a possessed kid, a chase down the hallway, a deathmatch, the kid jumping off the building, me almost adding attempted murder to my list of felonies and the thing you ask about is a catfight that didn't happen?"

"All of that stuff you mentioned is all in a day's work for us man." He said matter of factly. "Now two hot chicks fighting over you, now that's a story."

In a twisted sort of way he did have a point. And to be fair I did open myself up for this as soon as I mentioned the scene in the infirmary.

"They weren't fighting over me." I snapped.

"Sounds to me they were."

"I don't even know, why I am having this conversation with you." I crumpled up my can of coke, tossing it with the others and reached for a fresh can.

"It's because when it comes to girl stuff I am your mentor." He said sagely.

I rolled my eyes at that. He was more awkward around girls than I was. A year ago, he couldn't have carried a conversation with a girl, if his life, the fate of his workshop (which he loves, mind you) and the world depended on it.

But then miracle of miracles. He actually manages to get a girlfriend a year ago and all of a sudden he is Yoda. The funny part wasn't the fact that he got a girlfriend, but the fact that he actually managed to keep her around for a year now.

But then the universe never made sense to me in the first place and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

It had been a couple of hours since school had let off. And as usual I went to the Yard, had a game of basketball with the boys before dragging Beckendorf out of bed to tell him what happened. As a self-employed man, he kept his own hours. Odd as they were.

At the moment we were seated on the roof of a 10 storey building, with a dozen or so cans of coke, studying the life of the working class people below.

"So you say the kid's eyes were golden?" Beckendorf redirected the conversation to a more familiar territory.

I nodded. "Yeah. Never seen anything like that before." It was true. If it was black, that meant demonic possession. Red usually signified unholy spirits, both of which I had dealt with at some point or the other.

"Did you talk to Mr. Brunner about this?" He asked.

"I didn't want to bother him." I said. "He is on one of his tours again."

Maybe I couldn't keep the tinge of bitterness out of my voice, because Beckendorf persisted. "Look I think we should call Mr. Brunner, I am sure he will know what to do."

"And I am telling you we can handle this by ourselves." I snapped.

Beckendorf raised an eyebrow at my reaction, before sighing in defeat,

"Fine I will look into it." He conceded somewhat grudgingly. "Though I don't think we will have anymore problems with that. It probably was a one time thing anyway."

It wouldn't be even twenty four hours before I wished I could go back in time and smack Beckendorf up his head before he could utter those words.

The guy just had to jinx it. He couldn't let it alone.

* * *

The next day began like any other. Except I was getting stared at more than the usual. It was to be expected I suppose. The fact that the guy I fought was lying in the hospital, probably wasn't doing my reputation much good.

Well atleast they were giving me a wider berth than usual too.

But seriously all the stares and whispers got annoying after a while. There is only so much you can ignore. I saw Rachel's boyfriend keeping her company, so didn't have to face her.

It was Wednesday, so didn't have maths and that allowed me to avoid Annabeth for the day.

There was just something about her, which made me wary. It was almost as if she wanted something from me and didn't know what.

But So far so good.

Okay so maybe I am paranoid. Doesn't mean I am wrong.

The day passed uneventfully and I was making my way to detention. I had to do this for a week.

The school felt some order of discipline was required to keep students in line.

To be fair this was the lightest punishment I had received for something I didn't do.

Tentatively I knocked on the door to the classroom I would be serving detention in.

"Welcome Mr. Jackson."

Of course, it had to be him. Mr Matthews. He hated me, and knowing him, he must have asked for this. The guy just loved seeing me in misery.

"I will not get into fights again." He handed me a piece of chalk and pointed to the board. " A hundred and fifty times. So you better get started." He grabbed his bag and exited the room. "I will see you in an hour."

With the intention of ending this as soon as I could, I grabbed the piece of chalk and started.

I was on my twenty fifth time, when I felt it again. The same presence like the one I felt yesterday from that Gage boy.

Dropping the piece of chalk I ran towards where my senses guided me. It was coming from the pool area. Where the girl swim team was practicing.

I ran in ignoring the shouts of alarm and started looking around. Most of the girls looked at me with, with disgust mixed with anger. But I didn't care, I was looking for the golden eyes.

"I am going to have to ask you to leave the pool area." The coach came up to me, but I ignored her. My senses were still tingling.

That's when my eyes fell on the diving board. A girl standing on it, as she gazed down at us. She was still dressed in her normal clothes, so she probably wasn't a part of the swim team. Her golden gaze met mine. Grinning maniacally she jumped.

I would have to be crazy to follow her. After my last encounter, I doubted this one would be much different.

The girl was a fast swimmer, or probably it was just what was possessing her. Some of the girls practicing in the pool were still unaware of the danger they were in.

The girl swam towards one of them and wrapping her arms around the girl, she dragged her in.

Poor girl never had a chance.

She couldn't scream for help under water and no one had realized what was happening, except me. Great, now I didn't have a choice. This will come back to bite me in my ass.

I just knew it.

So, I did what I shouldn't. Kicking off my shoes I jumped in.

I swam as fast as I to reach the girls, before they drowned. A few more strokes and I was directly above them. Using one hand to grab the possessed girl by her hair and another to gain some purchase over her arms, I tried to pull her off.

I could have been pulling a bulldozer for all the good it was doing. Now even I was beginning to run out of air. The girl's struggles were becoming feebler.

That's when it hit me.

Riptide.

It didn't hurt mortals. I knew that. But will it work on a possessed girl.

Only one way to find out. Reaching into my pocket I fished out the pen which became a sword, when I uncapped it. With one motion I ran it through the possessed girl.

A watery scream escaped her mouth as she finally let go of the girl.

Grabbing both girls by their arms I pulled them to the surface. All three of us coughing and spluttering.

My senses weren't going haywire anymore, so it seemed Riptide worked.

But it wasn't supposed to work on spirits. It was the desperate move from a desperate man.

So what had happened?

But I didn't want to dwell on that too much.

Thing was I knew Riptide was just a temporary solution. At best I had applied band-aid to a bullet wound.

"I really hope you have an explanation for this." A voice floated from somewhere over me. It was the coach.

"What do you know. I don't." I tried to play this off lightly and judging by the grim look on her face, I wasn't succeeding.

Bad news. I was probably in more trouble with the school.

Worse news. I knew this wasn't over.

Worst news. I may not be able to stop the next one.

**Well, one of the longer chapters I have written. Hope you enjoyed it. And please do leave a line. Opinions, suggestions and criticisms are highly sought after.**

**Until next time.**

**Peace out!**


	5. Urban Legend

**Urban Legend**

Twice in two days. This was getting bad, even for me. It was to be expected I suppose. These things weren't supposed to come out in the open in front of everyone else like this. Whatever the hell they were.

So, that got me wondering what the problem was?

What had gotten them to do what they were doing?

Goode wasn't supposed to be the hub of 'activities'. I needed to know more. I had already put Beckendorf on the case, and he should have something for me.

I really didn't feel like calling Mr. Brunner for help. So far he had sent me on a few 'errands' which he thought I could handle. Maybe going out of my comfort zone would go some way.

In doing what? I had no idea.

Sitting outside the principal office, gave me some time to think about how I should proceed from here on.

At the moment he was interviewing/interrogating the two girls from the pool. Though I doubted that would do much good. The possessed hardly ever retained any memory during their time of being possessed.

Another thing which was bothering me, but shouldn't have if you think about it, was the fact that my blade worked on it.

Anaklusmos was a blade against monsters, not spirits. So, why did it work on them? At least I have something I can give Beckendorf to look up.

But why were they here now? What had triggered their arrival?

I needed answer to these questions and I needed them fast. Maybe I should call Mr. Brunner. I am way in over my head here.

I shook my head banishing those thoughts.

There is no telling what he is facing at the moment. And even if I managed to contact him, what were the chances that he would make it here in time to stop another attack. No, I was on my own and for some reason I found it didn't bother me as much as it should have.

"Mr. Jackson?" Came the voice of the Principal from his chambers. Sighing, I made my way in, ready to face the music, so to speak.

If Goode was the Purgatory, Principal Summers was the king of Purgatory and his chambers resembled that of a dungeon master, complete with hanging skulls and burning torches.

There he sat in his high chair, ready to pronounce judgement on my damned soul, banishing me to hell.

Okay so maybe I was exaggerating things a bit, but the vibe you get from the office wasn't any different than one you would get in a dungeon or a prison.

I should know.

I remember the day I was admitted to Goode. The man had in no uncertain terms assured me that he would be keeping me a very close eye on me. Not that I blamed him. God knew how many strings Mr. Brunner had to pull to get me in. One toe out of line, and he will chop off the whole leg, he had told me.

So, yeah I tried to make my stay at Goode as uneventful as possible. I had been succeeding too, but suddenly all of that seemed to change. And all of a sudden I found my boring, mundane life at Goode under threat.

Funny, how all this time I had been here, I never cared about it. But now that I was facing a very real possibility of getting expelled, I realized how much I really needed the normality that this place offered. The escape I craved without even knowing.

The girls were sitting opposite the Principal, a desk between them. A third chair was there vacant, as I eyed it warily.

"Take a seat Mr. Jackson." He said in his best and most serious adult voice. The kind that wished he was screaming at you instead. I pulled up the chair and couldn't help and kept my gaze straight towards him.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the girls stealing tentative glances at me.

"I would like your account of the day." He said.

I took a deep breath and narrated a believable version of the events. It wouldn't do o be a smart-ass today as he was already looking for reasons to kick me out.

So for once I played the good docile boy.

He gave me a patient hearing not interrupting even once.

"So, you left your detention to use the washrooms, when you saw Miss Woods running towards, and you decided to follow her, which eventually led to whatever it was that happened in the pools?" The Principal queried.

"That is correct."

His gaze turned hard and unyielding as he studied me, looking for any sign of lies, I tried to keep my face as blank as I could. Eventually he dropped his gaze.

"Fine Mr. Jackson, you're free to go." He said eventually.

"Just like that?" I must admit, I expected the Spanish inquisition to last a little longer than it did, and I wasn't even receiving a warning this time.

"Well, yours is the only account of the events we have." He conceded a bit regrettably. "Miss Woods claims that she remembers nothing, so we have a dead end."

Well, well it seems even I can get lucky at times.

The fact that I didn't have to stay back for detention was just the cherry on the top. But my work wasn't done yet.

I waited outside the school waiting for the girl. A pair of sedans parked themselves in the school parking lot. It was with some trepidation I realized that it was the parents of the girls who nearly drowned in the school pool.

I rushed back inside the school.

Fortunately I didn't have to search hard to find the girl. She was walking alone in the hallway, when I came face to face with her.

An agitated look came over her face when she saw me.

"Relax." I assured the girl raising both arms in the air, trying to prove I meant no harm to her. "I just came here to talk. Can you just give me 5 minutes of your time?"

The girl nodded, tentatively, her hand going into her school bag, clutching at something. Probably a pepper spray.

Well I just have to keep my distance then. I stood 5 yards away from her, close enough to have a conversation. Far enough to keep her comfortable.

"I am Percy." I said. "Percy Jackson. What's your name?"

"Sarah." She replied in a shy voice. "Sarah Woods."

"Okay Sarah, I just want to ask you a few questions." I said keeping my tone calm and even. "Can I?"

She nodded once after giving it some thought.

"What's the last thing you remember before I fished you out of the pool?" I came straight to the point.

The girl frowned, probably not expecting this.

"I was at arts and crafts." She said after a while "Working on a new banner for the basketball season along with some of the other members."

"Has this happened before?" I asked her.

She shook her head.

This wasn't getting me anywhere.

"Did you by any chance know the kid who jumped from the roof yesterday?"

As soon as I asked that question, her eyes seemed to widen, her lower lip started trembling and her eyes became watery, wide and fearful.

"Sarah where…." A man who I assumed was her father rushed into the hallway.

His eyes fell on his tearful daughter and then his eyes fell on me.

Do the math.

"Hey leave her alone." He snarled brushing past me and enveloping his daughter in an embrace. "Haven't you guys done enough?"

"Look there must be some misunderstanding." I began explaining myself, but the man obviously had no interest in listening.

"I hear you bother her again I will make sure you're kicked out of the school." The father warned me before walking out taking his daughter in tow with him.

If that wasn't insightful I didn't know what was.

"So Riptide actually worked on them?" Came Beckendorf's bewildered voice over the phone.

"That's what I am telling you man, and I know it wasn't supposed to work, so don't bother saying it."

I was back home and munching on some sandwiches I whipped up, while talking to Beckendorf on the cordless phone we had in our house.

What can I say? I am the king of multi-tasking.

"Well this changes… everything. I have been looking in all the wrong places" He said. "Give me a couple of hours and I will have something for you."

"That would be great."

"And one more thing Percy." Beckendorf said before I could cut the call. "You need to find how this all began. Its extremely vital. Because if it is what I believe it is, then there might be more of them."

Hmmmm… that was cryptic.

So, that meant I would need to know more about the victims. What was the relation between the kid who jumped the roof and the quiet girl from arts and crafts who tried to drown herself?

The boy was a dead end considering he was still in a coma, and I wasn't doing so good with the girl either, whose father was all but ready to get a restraining order put on me.

So, what could I do?

The girl did say something about being in the arts and crafts club.

Staring at the phone I dialed a number I never though I would have reason to use.

It was answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" Came a slightly puzzled voice of a girl from the other end.

"Hey Rachel. You got a minute?"

Half an hour later I was standing outside a shopping mall, waiting. I really didn't want to go in, but somehow I had been convinced to show up.

A bunch of boys my age walked past me eyeing me as if daring me to start something. Very mature, being tough in a place which was more often than not the hang-out spot for pre-teen girls.

I resisted rolling my eyes, and held myself neutrally dropping my gaze to the ground. Smirking and feeling good about their collective masculinity they left me alone and went their way trying to find more guys to intimidate,

The players keep changing but the game remains the same.

I spotted Rachel exiting the mall, her face splitting into a smile when she saw me. Dressed in denim skirt and a green top, her red-hair tied in a ponytail, she looked impeccable.

"Hey." She said the smile never leaving her face.

"Hey." I replied.

She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to a café.

Soon we were seated at a table, while she studied the menu as I waited patiently to breach the topic of our meeting.

She ordered two iced mocha chinos and some dish I couldn't pronounce.

"Well I didn't expect you to call so soon after I gave you my number." She said once the waitress had taken the order and left.

Neither did I.

"Yeah I just needed to ask you something." I replied.

"Go ahead."

"What can you tell me about Sarah Woods?"

The smile dropped from her face.

"She is a freshman the same as us." She said her tone noticeably cooler than when she met me. "I think you even share a few classes with her."

Did I?

"Hmmm…. I think she is in your arts and crafts club."

"Well it seems you already know enough, why do you need me?" She folded her arms and glared at me.

Okay I must be missing something here. Rachel was mean but she was never this openly hostile.

"Well I was trying to talk to her after school and her father nearly tore my head apart." I explained.

"That's what you get for trying to ask a girl out in front of her father." She said. "Gee Percy I knew you were stupid but these are basics."

"I wasn't asking her out." My patience was beginning to run thin. "Will you just listen to me?"

"Just saying." She raised her hands in mock surrender. "She isn't your type anyway."

I wanted to retort and ask her what my type was, but then that would have been not so much as sidetracking as completely changing lanes.

So, I did the mature thing and shared the events of the day. The believable version of course.

"Sarah was always a bit on the shy side." She said. "We were friends in middle school."

"What happened?" My curiosity was raised.

"High school happened." She shook her head a little regrettably. "I joined the cheerleading squad and she remained in arts and crafts. You know how it goes."

I was beginning to get the picture.

"That still doesn't explain why her father behaved the way he did."

"I think it had something to do with the party." Rachel said.

Now we were beginning to get warmer.

"What party?"

"You know those initiation thing that the seniors throw for us freshman."

Actually I didn't.

"What about them?" At this time there was a slight break in our conversation as the waitress arrived with our order.

"Well they are more like hazing rituals." She explained. "During the start of the year they would invite us to parties and dare us to do stuff." She took an appreciative sip from her cup and continued. "Some of the stuff they had us do was pretty trippy."

Now I remembered being invited to one of these things. I guess I had ignored it.

"And people still did it?" I couldn't help asking.

"For most of us, it's a way to blend in." She shrugged. "Be a part of the in-crowd."

Peer pressure really is a bitch I suppose.

"So, I am guessing Sarah was initiated?"

"Poor girl's never been the same." Rachel said with casual nonchalance. "Her dad knew what happened, but no one came forward and since this happened outside the school he couldn't blame them either."

"What did they have her do?"

"Why are you so interested?" She arched an eyebrow curiously. "Falling for the damaged ones are we?"

"Maybe." I said and saw a slight widening of her eyes to my satisfaction. "You still haven't answered my question though."

A thoughtful expression came over her face as she seemed to contemplate her next words.

"You know the Urban Legend about the well at Howard's Park?" She said.

I had heard of it. Howard's Park was an abandoned wasteland of sorts in the outskirts of the city. The only peculiarity about the place was a well, which had dried up for as long as anyone could remember. Apparently a couple of hundred years ago, when that well was dug, a drunk farmer had toppled in. Despite the shallow depth of the well, the body was never found. Some say that the well isn't actually a well but a bottomless pit which leads straight to hell.

You know your average storybook stuff.

"Well she was dared to go inside the well and touch the bottom." She concluded. "There were two others, who were dared to do the same thing but I didn't know them."

Okay, not sure how much of it is true, but this was definitely a start. Even though the legend wasn't living up to its reputation as the kids did come out. But maybe there was something in there.

"Now can you tell me why you want to know about this?" She asked me. "Considering I blew off a date for this,"

"I believe I can help her. "

She stared at me as if I had grown an extra head.

"And pray what you can do, that her therapists can't?"

I gave her smile which seemed to irritate her even more.

"I will see you later Red." I said using her nickname. And after consideration, I leant down and kissed her, which seemed to catch her by surprise. "Thanks."

I exited the café and made my way to The Yard, more excited than I had felt in a while. I might have figured it out, if only Beckendorf had found something maybe we could fit the puzzles pieces in place.

Half an hour later I was banging the door to Beckendorf's apartment, which he opened after 30 seconds of persistent knocking.

"I think I may have found our point of origin." I said to him.

"Good, cause I believe I found what we are dealing with." Beckendorf said a smirk playing on his lips. "And trust me kid, this is gonna be one hell of a job."


End file.
